Japanese Bean Money

with Daikoku, the god of plenty

The official name is mameita-gin, but I like the domesticated term bean money.

Mameita-gin have long histories, stretching from the late 1500s to the mid 1800s. Values, no surprise, go up as coins get older, but proper attribution, overall condition and eye appeal are paramount. There are no inscriptions, so attribution must happen by pattern only.

Bean money is made of silver alloy, some with very low silver content. Percentage of silver ranges from below 15 percent to above 80 percent. Rarely do the coins look like 'standard' silver as we think of it today. Mameita-gin are usually dark. Valuable mameita-gin coins have recognizable patterns on both sides, but some bean-shaped mameita-gins have only minor markings. We’ll get to those later. First, we introduce Daikoku, the Japanese god of plenty.

Daikoku’s likeness appears on mameita-gin coinage, but a good deal of imagination is necessary to see him. He is usually seated on two rice bags, with a wish-granting mallet in his right hand, and a large bag of precious things in his left hand.

Daikoku shows himself most of the time on both sides of mameita-gin, but sometimes only on one side, like this:

Dating mameita-gin will get your numismatic juices flowing. Japanese era names, nengō, also known as gengō, create a traditional calendar system which began during the reign of Emperor Kōtoku in the 7th century. Each Japanese era usually starts soon after the beginning of the reign of a new emperor. More recently, era names key to good omens and warding off bad ones. Check Wikipedia for a comprehensive run-down of Japanese nengō.

Mameita-gin coins appear as early as the Keicho era (1595AD) to as late as the Ansei era (1865AD), so don’t you think it is about time you started your bean money collection? You won’t find a more interesting and challenging numismatic project!

While Daikoku appears on most mameita-gin coinage, subtle differences in his pattern allow numismatists to assign eras (i.e., date ranges) to individual coins.

You can use the ever-helpful Charm.ru to date each piece in your mamieta-gin collection.

As to value, here are some approximate catalog prices of mamieta-gin with and without Daikoku.

EARLY ERAS, with Daikoku
Keicho, Genroku, Hoei, Shotoku, Kyoho
worn: $200 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $400
well preserved: $800

LATE ERAS, with Daikoku
Genbun, Bunsei, Tenpo, Ansei
worn: $100 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $250
well preserved: $500

ALL ERAS, without Daikoku
less than 3 grams: $10 US dollars approximate catalog value
more than 15 grams: $50

Note: If you are not sure what “catalog value” means, brush up on your numismatic understanding. Catalog values are not buying or selling prices. Instead, they are guides for buyers and sellers. Approximately, collectors buy nice-looking, problem-free coins from dealers at about three-quarters catalog value, and collectors sell those coins to dealers at about one-half catalog value.

For better information about catalog values, read It’s a Crapshoot on Substack.